


If the Morning Light ever calls you Backwards

by blueabsinthe



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-05
Updated: 2013-07-05
Packaged: 2017-12-17 18:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/870494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueabsinthe/pseuds/blueabsinthe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vince feels like he has finally come home from so far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If the Morning Light ever calls you Backwards

**Author's Note:**

> Written shortly after news broke of Vinny's buyout.
> 
> Title is lyrics from the song 'Bottom of the Sea' by Matt Nathanson.

They used to dream about the NHL all those long ago days in Athol Murray, and in 'The Q'. It was always the dream. There were times when all of it felt like a pipe dream. Being so far away from home will do that to anyone, he supposed. 

Even when he went first overall in the 1998 NHL entry draft, Vince still thought it was all a dream. Part of him still thinking this was all temporary.

He wondered if his entire career would involve being shuffled from one team to the next. Would he ever have a permanent home? 

After some prodding to Tampa management at the draft, Vince watched as Brad was drafted in the third round. He couldn't help but watch Brad, his thoughts going a mile a minute, wondering if Brad was having the same exact thoughts he was. 

Winning the Stanley Cup in 2004, with Brad at his side to share in every moment was one of the rare times Vince felt like maybe the dream was actually real, despite it being a surreal experience. 

Tampa would start to feel like a permanent home for him when he signed his eleven-year deal on July 12, 2008. It should have felt more real, except Vince could not help but feel like something was missing. Or someone. 

Dallas was so far away. It felt like the other side of the world, Vince thought as he hung up the phone with Brad on that long ago day. 

The years pass by in a blur. Brad signs with New York. New York will become his home. 

**_Lightning to Use Compliance Buyout on Vincent Lecavalier_**.

The headline still stings. Still weighs heavily on his heart. He knows it is business. Even so … How does one take fourteen years with one NHL club and try to define it all? Is it even possible? 

He feels more than a little lost. 

Everything feels surreal. He knows the meetings that will follow after the buyout news. All the teams he will have to meet with. None of it feels like home. To be quite honest, Vince always felt like something was missing from Tampa. Which, probably explained why he had booked a plane ticket to New York shortly after the buyout. 

Vince's thoughts are still reeling even as he hears the buzzer, and Brad's calm voice telling him to 'come on up'. 

Brad has the door open, leans against the doorframe as he watches Vince approach him. He stares blankly at Brad, letting himself get lost in the sea of Brad's amber brown eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Brad whispers, pulling Vince inside his apartment. 

Vince lets Brad put his arms around him, drawing him closer. He can feel Brad's heart as it beats a steady rhythm against his chest. Vince runs his hands down Brad's back, feels the sharp blades of his shoulders, can feel where each vertebrae in his back starts and ends. He knows Brad's body about as intimately as his own, and even though he has run his hands, tongue, and lips over every inch of Brad's body, this all feels different and new. He feels like he is uncovering hidden parts on a map, or maybe it is all just being rediscovered. Whatever it is, it makes Vince dizzy. 

He lets out his breath slowly, and lets his head rest on Brad's shoulder. The space between them is infinitesimal at best, and it still feels like it is not close enough. 

Vince runs a hand through Brad's hair. He doesn't dare move. Doesn't know if he can. He feels as Brad's hands come up, cupping his face gently, thumb running over his cheek. 

"Vinny," he breathes, voice lost to the air. 

Vince curls his fingers around Brad's wrist, thumb running over the pulse point, as he leans his forehead against Brad's. He breathes in, letting Brad infiltrate his every pore. 

And, as he stands in Brad's Manhattan apartment, the sounds of a city that never sleeps flitting up to him, Vince realizes he has come home.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to hit me up on [tumblr](http://blueabsinthe18.tumblr.com/), if you want :)


End file.
